To Reclaim The Crown

Chapter Sixteen

Aldith pulled in a deep breath before realising it over three seconds to focus her mind. She tuned out the noise around her to zone her senses. She remembered back to when Gaywn would train her for hours on end. The same technique over and over until it was second nature for her muscles to just move. Her eyes followed the man's footsteps as she charged towards her with a fierce look in his eyes. 

Timing it right, Aldith slid back a full pace while keeping her left foot forward. She brought her right foot forward and using the force of her hips she crashed her foot into the man's left thigh. His knee straightened out and he jolted forward in pain causing his head to fly forward. This gave Aldith's punch so much more of an impact as it connected with the man's jaw. This caused his head to jerk backwards with blood spraying from his mouth. 

It took him a moment before he regained his balance and rushed to her again. He swung his left arm which Aldith ducked under, stepping back. He then threw several more and Aldith continued to dodge by stepping backwards. Before she knew it she walked into some of the crowd who had circled the fight. They pushed her forward taking her by surprise. 

The man took this to his advantage and grabbed her by her waist and lifted her up before smashing her small frame to the ground. Aldith's body bounced against the solid dirt before the man dropped to his knees and straddled her waist pinning her down. He punches her face hard on the right side causing her head to roll over. Blood poured from her nose and mouth as her vision doubled. She quickly felt a tight pressure around her neck, cutting off the air travelling to and from her lungs.

"Stop the fight! He's killing her!" Killian yelled as he tried to rush over, but was stopped by Eyvald grabbing his left shoulder tightly. 

"Do not dishonour her." He grumbled to Killian as his eyes did not leave the fight. Killian looked to Gaywn and Avice, expecting them to intervene. But Avice had turned to her right so she was not watching, while Gaywn had his eyes trained on Aldith. His jaw was clenched so hard, Killian was surprised his teeth were still intact. He looked down at Gaywn's balled fists and seen blood seeping out and dropping to the ground. 

They all wanted to intervene but they knew they couldn't. If they did, Aldith would lose all the respect that she is fighting for in the first place. Killian looked down to the ground before looking back up at Aldith being strangled. "Come on, get up," Killian muttered to Aldith.

"Get up!" Killian yelled loudly over the crowd. His yell flooded Aldith's ears, giving her that rush of strength that she needed. 

Aldith used her left hand to grab hold of his right wrist and pulled while she slammed her right open palm against his throat. This pushed him back creating enough room for her to lift her left knee and place it under his chest. She then placed her right foot just above his thigh and pushed so she could bring her left foot up. Putting as much force possible behind her left foot, she kicked his chin hard enough to send him flying backwards. 

He landed heavily on his back while grabbing his face in pain. Aldith rolled over onto her side while coughing up blood. She spat it out onto the ground before weakly pushing herself back to her feet. She breathed in and out deeply as she watched the men try to stand up. 

Aldith knew she would have to take him out now, while she had the chance. Aldith rushed forward and jumped into the air. She pulled her fist back and using the momentum of gravity along with the rest of her strength she slammed her fist into his face. They both hit the ground at the same time and everything stopped. No more drums, no more cheering and no more chanting. Everyone waited with bated breath to see who would stand and be the victor. 

"Come on, Aldith. Stand up." Eliot muttered quietly and barely audible. The tension was so thick that people had begun to lean forward with anticipation. Killian felt his heart thunder in his chest like it wanted to escape its cage. The sound of dirt moving against itself was the only thing that could be heard. With every last ounce of strength, Aldith pushed herself to her feet. Her head hung with exhaustion. She tried to take a step forward but stumbled. Gaywn quickly took to his feet just as quickly at Killian, they rushed over to her and caught her before she fell. 

"Easy there, we've got you," Gaywn muttered to her as they both took an arm and hooked them over their shoulders to keep her on her feet. 

"Well!" Eyvald yelled for everyone to hear. "We have our victor!" Eyvald proclaimed before the crowd erupted into song and cheer. Eyvald walked over to the trio and placed a hand onto Aldith's chin to lift her head up to look at him. "Well done Blood child. Your battle skills are exactly as Dain described." He looked to Killian and Gaywn, as he gently let go of her chin and placed a hand onto her shoulder, tapping gently.

" Take her back to the hut. Fridgerd will tend to her wounds." Gaywn nodded and the pair lifted her enough so her feet had barely any weight to carry. They guided her to the hut were they gently place her onto the straw bed with white sheets covering the hay.

"You fought well, Aldith," Gaywn muttered as he placed her head gently onto the bed. "I am really proud of you, kid." 

"Thanks, old man." She moaned softly in pain with a small smile. 

"Alright. Time to go. The Blood Child needs her rest." Fridgerd instructed the men as she and the four women who attended to her earlier reappear. The men nodded and left the hut before Killian took one last look over his shoulder. 

"I need water, Queensweed, watercress and camomile," Fridgerd instructed one woman. "You, i need my grinder and clean linin and you two undress her" Fridgerd instructed before she walked over to a table and knelt down to begin the herb mixing process. "It's going to be a long night," Fridgerd muttered to herself as she knew Aldith had to be ready for tomorrow.